Fish bowl with fish and aquatic plant design in wucai enamels Six-character mark of Wanli and of the period (1573 – 1620), Ming dynasty

Chinese Antiquities Gallery (1) (3/F)

This exhibition has on display around 180 objects from the collection of the Hong Kong Museum of Art. They comprise either representations of animals or objects bearing animal motifs. These include dragons and phoenixes as symbols of power and prestige; bats in rebus form for good fortune; the bixie, believed to ward off evil; and vivid representations of domestic animals such as cats, chickens and sheep. Through the ceramics, jade, stone, wood and bamboo carvings, glassware and metalwork on display, we hope to examine and present the organic evolution of animal representations in and through Chinese traditional arts and crafts, customs, religious rituals, myths, legends and intellectual culture.